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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A “Beloved” Teacher or A Simple Bully?

TheUnited States is again shocked about yet another example of school violence. The latest incidence of a 13-year old student going wild to get his revenge on society might as well be a day the NRA is celebrating. Access to weapons for everybody…is the mantra you hear from indoctrinated gun lovers.

Looking at the headlines at CNN or CBS this morning, I read about his celebrated and “beloved” teacher, a former marine, who also was a sports coach. But there are also voices saying that the particular student was bullied by this teacher. I am not saying one or the other is the truth, as I really don’t know. It would take some intimate knowledge to judge this case.

But I feel compelled to tell my story, which I remember all too good, even though it happened many decades ago.

I have already stated earlier that I hated the gym lessons. As a result my gym teachers hated ME. All of them did, because I was a pain in their behind. Yes, throughout my entire time in school, gym teachers have hated me and bullied me. Well, it was painful, but finally I got the skin of an elephant, because I needed to survive. But what if…..I would have had access to a weapon? Would that have resulted in the first school shooting episode in Germany?

What I am saying is that the 13-year old student from Sparks, NV must have had a reason for the way he acted. It was probably a similar reason as many of his predecessors. Nobody starts shooting unless the person is a total mental nut case or a plain criminal. “You have destroyed my life and now I’m going to destroy yours” was the last this student told his teacher. And doesn’t this lead us to think that bullying in school is the reason for most episodes of school violence? Combine that with easy access to weapons (where the hell did he get a semi automatic from?) and you have the perfect scenario for many more school shootings.

What’s gonna happen over the next days and weeks is that psychologists, psychiatrists and all kind of self-proclaimed profilers will write volumes about what they think must be studied and done and evaluated. But the truth, in fact, is in plain sight for everybody to see.

6 comments:

Yup. And I just figure, living in a "gun culture", there's going to be some stray bullets. Same as living in a "car culture". We have car accidents. But wait, how would that go? "Cars don't kill people, people kill people"? Doesn't seem to work, does it?

Interesting blog. I didn't think of it that way. Thanks for your perspective. It's quite likely the kid did have a reason, and your blog seems to indicate that this could be the case. I never thought that perhaps the teacher was the intended target, but it makes sense now.I too, had a few teachers in my upbringing that I could have easily considered being a bully to me. Their tactics on teaching were quite heavy handed, and some even resorted to name calling and shaming to get me to do the tasks that they put forth. None of that worked, but I know at some point I had wished them dead. Not by my hand of course, but wished it nonetheless.It's sad that children feel like this is a last resort for them. Lack of communication with their parents? Perhaps. Lack of anyone to really talk to about things? Perhaps. A general numbness of the act that they are going to commit? Yes.It's news like this that makes me take my son aside and reassure him that whatever is going on, he has to talk to me about it. Open communication is so important with parents and children. I also back my son up when he needs me. If he told me a certain teacher was bullying him, I would do everything I could to make the situation right. My son knows that I have his back. No matter what.

Thanks again for posting this, this is a good reminder that media can spin the truth sometimes to make the bullies look like heros.